For over 50 years, Umberto Menghi has helped define what it means to eat Italian cuisine in Vancouver. Originally from Tuscany, the chef and restaurateur has, over the decades, owned and operated 14 restaurants along the West Coast, written five best-selling cookbooks, hosted a popular TV cooking show, and opened a hotel and cooking school back in Italy. For all his accomplishments, and for working to promote authentic Italian culture abroad, he was also recently awarded the Order of the Star of Italy from President Sergio Mattarella—officially earning him the title of “Knight.”
Despite all these accolades, Menghi continues to celebrate simplicity in his cooking. “Simplicity of food is very important to me because as an Italian, we never experience all these running sauces that cover the taste of food,” he explains. Ingredients are also key, and in addition to importing things like parmesan, prosciutto and olive oil from Italy, Menghi sources a lot of products locally—including British Columbia’s famed seafood.
Here, some of that stellar seafood, including prawns, scallops, clams, and mussels, meets classic Italian cooking in a recipe that takes transports you to a terrace overlooking the Amalfi Coast—even if you’re sitting in a garden in Vancouver.
Spaghettini ai Frutti di Mare
Serves 2
Ingredients
4 oz spaghettini
4 mussels
4 clams
2 scallops
2 prawns
1 finely sliced squid
1 fresh chili pepper or chili oil to taste
1 fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 gloves of garlic, finely chopped
½ cup white dry wine
1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. Domenica Fiore Extra Virgin Oil
6-8 small cherry tomatoes, freshly chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
In a big pot, put your spaghettini in boiling salted water.
While your spaghettini boils, in a large sauté pan, put all ingredients in (except for the tomatoes) with the butter and oil on medium heat. After 3 to 4 minutes, the clams and mussels will open and the wine will evaporate. Then, put in the cherry tomatoes. Simmer for another 3 to four minutes. The spaghettini should then be ready.
Put the spaghettini in the sauté pan and toss all ingredients together.
Salt and pepper to taste. If desired, add chili pepper or chili oil to taste.
Divide evenly onto two plates or place in a large pasta bowl and share.